Google and Associated Press strike new deal on content licensing

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Google and the Associated Press have reached an agreement over the search engine's continued licensing of AP's content.

In a statement posted to the Google News blog yesterday, Josh Cohen, senior business product manager, said the two companies will now work to create a "better user experience".

"We've extended our existing licensing agreement with the Associated Press that permits us to host its content on Google properties such as Google News. We look forward to future collaborations, including on ways Google and AP can work together to create a better user experience and new revenue opportunities."

A Google spokesperson declined to comment further but according to a report by paidContent:UK, AP's previous demands were believed to involve access to "real-time metrics" and "better pay for its stories". It remains unknown if these form part of the final agreement.

The new deal covers Google News' hosting of content, as explained in a previous post, for news sources which do not publish their own reports on a consumer website, such as AP, Agence France-Presse and the UK's Press Association.

Original content from news services such as these will appear on Google results while 'duplicate articles' based on the same copy will be removed, the search engine explained.

In a statement on its website, the Associated Press also confirmed an agreement with Google had been reached.

"The Associated Press and Google have reached a new agreement on the continued licensing of AP content by Google. Under the agreement, AP and Google will also work together in a number of new areas, such as ways to improve discovery and distribution of news."

AP has not yet responded to a request for comment.